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Coronation Street's Tyrone Dobbs may have had fatherhood cruelly snatched away from him, but at least his alter-ego, Alan Halsall, is having better luck.

Halsall and his wife, former fellow Corrie star, Lucy-Jo Hudson, have just announced via Twitter (how else?) that they are expecting their first baby and that they are "over the moon".

The couple married in 2009 after meeting on set. There, you see - Coronation Street can have a happy ending, after all.

If you had any ideas that the spat between American Idol judges, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey was a put-up job for publicity, then the executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, assures us it wasn't.

In fact, Lythgoe wants the show's divas to cut out the feud and get on with the job in hand. "I don't think that's been a bonus in any way, shape or form, to be frank," he says. "It's not publicity I wanted." Yeah, but look at the ratings, Nigel.

Former Dawson's Creek star, James Van Der Beek, seems to have landed on his feet again after playing a fictional version of himself in the comedy Don't Trust The B**** In Apartment 23.

Van Der Beek has scored the lead role in a pilot for a new comedy titled Friends With Better Lives, as a gynaecologist who expects the worst from people after his wife cheats on him. That's not really an ideal profession for a cynic, is it?

Fringe star, Ari Graynor, has landed the Cameron Diaz role as a sexy, foul-mouthed divorcee in the TV adaptation of the movie Bad Teacher.

However, as it's a CBS show, we're betting that some of the language and subject matter of the original movie may well be toned down a little for the TV version. If it isn't, we'd hate to be working in the CBS public relations department after the first episode.

Arrested Development's Will Arnett is another US star looking at a new comedy series for 2013.

Arnett has been confirmed in the lead role in an as-yet-untitled show about a divorcee whose life grows even more complicated as his parents begin to experience problems in their own marriage. Coincidentally, Arnett and his wife, Amy Poehler, separated last year, so he probably hasn't had to research his role very much.